New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday that he's considering issuing a "shelter in place" order for all New York City residents, as the spread of coronavirus continues to grow, The Hill reports. His decision will reportedly be made in the next 48 hours.
"We’re absolutely considering that," de Blasio told CNN's New Day when asked about the potential ordinance. He went on to claim that this order could be adopted by the entire country in the near future.
"We’re going to look at all other options, but it could get to that for sure for the whole country," de Blasio continued.
A "shelter in place" ordinance would mandate all city residents to stay in their homes, except for food, medicine and exercise. This would move New York City one step closer to a complete lockdown, similar to what is taking place in Italy. At that point, people would have to ask permission to leave their homes.
On Monday, six San Francisco/Bay-area counties enacted "shelter in place" orders, which are in place until April 7 and impacts over six million people. Residents are allowed to leave their homes only to do essential activities such as obtain food, seek health care, or provide for friends and family. When citizens do go outside, they must remain six-feet away from people that don't live in their homes.
